Uk politics

Tory activists are in uproar this morning over varying reports of tax raising measures Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid are considering for next month’s Budget. Plans currently being mooted include cuts to pension tax relief and the introduction of a recurring property tax that could replace stamp duty. Critics have been quick to say that neither proposal fits with what the Tory party traditionally claims to want to do – rather than new taxes and limits Johnson ought to be pushing for tax cuts. However, the view in both No. 10 and No. 11 is that this is the year for tough – and potentially unpopular – decisions. Given the

Next week, the government will introduce emergency legislation to stop anyone convicted of terrorist offences from being automatically released half-way through their sentence. But, as Whitehall sources acknowledge, this only tackles one vulnerability in the system. So, as I write in The Sun today, a broader plan to deal with the jihadi threat is being drawn up. One idea under discussion is for a sex offenders’ register for terrorists. This would enable the state to place restrictions on terrorists long after they have completed any prison sentence. These restrictions could include who they are allowed to meet with, where they are allowed to travel to both at home and abroad

When diplomatic cables leaked to the Mail on Sunday last year revealing that the UK’s man in Washington Sir Kim Darroch had described the Trump administration as ‘inept’ and ‘incompetent’, the ambassador was forced to resign. Since then there has been much speculation over who would succeed him and work to rebuild UK/US diplomatic relations. While everyone from Nigel Farage to Sir Mark Sedwill had been tipped for the job, today the government announced that Karen Pierce – the ambassador to the UN in New York and Permanent Representative at the UN Security Council – has been appointed to the role. At the UN, Pierce developed a good working relationship

It’s budget day in the Scottish parliament and the Scottish finance secretary has just resigned. Derek Mackay has quit his role as finance secretary hours before he was due to deliver his budget following a story published in the Scottish Sun alleging he sent inappropriate messages to a 16-year-old boy on social media. The paper published a list of messages Mackay had allegedly sent to the boy since contacting the individual ‘out of the blue’ in August of last year. The messages published include Mackay, 42, seemingly telling the teenager he was ‘cute’, that he was ‘looking good with new haircut’ and inviting him to a dinner. In response to

Since Boris Johnson returned to No. 10 with a majority of 80, there’s been a growing sense that the Prime Minister and his team plan to use their newfound political capital to challenge the status quo. High on the list of institutions and conventions that they believe require a shake-up is the BBC. Today Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan began to put the meat on the bones of the government’s vision for the public service broadcaster. In a speech at Policy Exchange on the future of media and broadcasting, the Conservative peer confirmed that the government is launching a consultation on whether to decriminalise non-payment of the licence fee. She also

Britain is no longer a member of the EU. Attention now shifts to what kind of trade agreement the EU and the UK are going to come to. I say in The Sun this morning, that the two sides are currently far apart—as we’ll see when the two sides set out their positions on Monday—and the negotiations are heading for a mighty smash. The UK thinks that the EU doesn’t realise how much has changed over the last few months. They fear that the EU has not clocked that this will be a very different negotiation because Boris Johnson has a majority in parliament and wants a free trade deal,

Claire Perry, who is now known as Claire Perry O’Neill, is to leave her role as President of the UN Climate Change Conference, Coffee House understands. Over the summer, the former Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth had been nominated to serve as the President of COP 26 – for when the UK takes over the stewardship of the global effort to tackle climate change in a conference in Glasgow this November. However, a Whitehall source says that this will no longer be the case: ‘Everything to do with COP is being integrated with the SoS BEIS from this weekend. Clare Perry will no longer be involved. We

There’s nothing like a period of reflection after a historic election defeat. It offers those involved a chance to look at issues afresh and seek out difficult answers. Alternatively, if you are say Ian Lavery or Andrew Gwynne, it offers a chance to confirm everything you had already thought. The Financial Times reports that the results of Labour’s official report on the party’s worst election defeat for 80 years are in. The finding? Jeremy Corbyn was not at fault. Corbyn allies – and election co-ordinators – Gwynne and Lavery penned the report and it was shared with the national executive committee on Tuesday’s away day. The report suggests Jeremy Corbyn

What will the UK’s immigration system look like after leaving the EU? During the general election campaign, Boris Johnson committed to an Australian-style points based system. He also committed to bringing immigration levels down. But besides these two points, little is currently known about the specifics of how the new system will operate when it comes into effect next January after the transition period ends. Today, the Migration Advisory Committee – which provides the government with recommendations – has published a report intended to help the government add flesh to the bones of their plans. However, it raises potential issues over the current strategy being pursued by Johnson. The committee

It’s decision time in No. 10. This week ought to be the week in which a decision is made on whether HS2 should proceed – and whether Huawei should be given access to the UK’s 5G network. Whichever way the government moves on these issues, a chunk of the Tory party will be left unhappy. On HS2, the initial signs suggest the government is leaning towards giving the project the go ahead – at least in some form. No decision will be made until Boris Johnson meets this week with Sajid Javid and Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary. However, on Sunday, Stephen Barclay – the Brexit Secretary – suggested on

Can Boris Johnson really cut violent crime by 20 per cent? James reported recently that the Prime Minister has set his Cabinet this target, and is demanding that every department get involved in realising it. Most people have focused on the most salient political problem, which is knife crime. But if the Prime Minister is really serious about driving the overall violent crime statistics down, then he already has a piece of ‘oven-ready’ legislation which could help him do this – if he’s prepared to spend a bit more money on it. The Domestic Abuse Bill is returning to Parliament very soon, after just making it through all the prorogation

Keir Starmer has made it through to the final round of the Labour leadership contest, having secured the backing of shop workers’ union Usdaw. The party’s rules state that a candidate needs to get the backing of three affiliated organisations, of which two must be trade unions (or the nomination of at least 33 constituency Labour parties), and along with the earlier backing of Unison and Labour’s Environment Campaign SERA, Starmer has made it. Usdaw also nominated Angela Rayner for the deputy leadership, and she is now also through to the final round of her contest. This is a big week for nominations from affiliates, with both the GMB and

Now that the second phase of the Labour leadership contest is underway, the five candidates are finalising their campaign teams. Some of them, of course, have had some kind of infrastructure running for a good long while before the December election was even called. Others are just announcing their big hires and co-chairs now. Here’s who is working on each campaign, and what the line-up says about the pitch their candidate is making. Keir Starmer Jenny Chapman is the chair. She is the former MP for Darlington, in a nod to the importance of winning back seats Labour had formerly considered its heartlands. Her analysis of the election result is